


Hair as White as Snow, Heart as Black as Coal

by chuuhuahua



Series: Spider 14 [1]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Assassin Killua Zoldyck, Dark!Killua, Gen, Genei Ryodan | Phantom Troupe - Freeform, Genei Ryodan | Phantom Troupe Member Killua, Hunter Exam (Hunter X Hunter), Machi had big sister energy, So does Chrollo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26362675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuuhuahua/pseuds/chuuhuahua
Summary: Killua is both the heir of the Zoldyck family and a member of the Phantom Troupe. His latest target is a Hunter named Ging Freecs, whose location is unknown to practically everybody. That’s why Killua enters the Hunter Exam, to find and befriend Ging’s son, Gon Freecs. Will Killua be able to keep his identity secret, especially with Hisoka trying to mess things up?
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Killua Zoldyck, Hisoka & Illumi Zoldyck, Killua Zoldyck & Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer
Series: Spider 14 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915729
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	1. A New Target

**Author's Note:**

> A lil fic about assassin Killua cause i figured it would be interesting. I started writing this when I was almost done with season 4 of HunterxHunter and haven't read the manga (yet), so some details might not be included and you can bet I'll be ranting in the notes section as the anime progresses.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Your target is Ging Freecs, level SSS. He is a pro-hunter whose location is unknown. If you accept the job, you will enter the Hunter Exam.” A SSS ranked target huh? Well, Killua did like a challenge.

Killua had been about to go kill an old billionaire when his grandfather contacted him. The old man declared it an emergency, and to come directly to the house immediately. Killua has never been called home in the middle of a job before, so he figured somebody had died or something. He hoped it was Milluki but his mom would be great too.

After grabbing some jewels and cash laying around in the targets house (hey he was a Spider, they are technically thieves, and besides, the old man should be thankful he isn’t going to die so soon), he texted Chrollo that he had some Zoldyck business to take care of, and set off to find the nearest train. His phone buzzed just then.

“Father has arranged a private airship for you at XX airport.” A text from Illumi read. Short and to the point, typical of his big brother.

Hours later, he arrived at the base of Kukuroo Mountain. After greeting the butlers, he made his way to his father's room. As he entered the room, Killua was surprised to see only his father, grandfather, and Illumi.

“Killua, come sit.” Silva said, beckoning him to come forth. The white haired boy walked closer, but didn’t sit down.

“This better be important, I was going to meet Chrollo for dinner,” he said impatiently.

“It is.” Zeno stated, before motioning for Silva to explain.

“We need you to kill somebody,” Wow. Straight to the point. 

“Yes father, I already guessed that.” Killua retorted. “What’s their rating?” Professional assassins had long ago created a rating system to categorize how difficult a target their victim would be. SSS was the most difficult, and F the easiest. The Zoldyck’s never took a job under a B rating. 

On average, most of Killua’s jobs were an A, with the occasional SS or B. The only people in the family who had taken an SSS job before were his grandfather and father, and even then very rarely.

“Your target is Ging Freecs, level SSS. He is a pro-hunter whose location is unknown. If you accept the job, you will enter the Hunter Exam.” A SSS ranked target huh? Well, Killua did like a challenge. 

“Why do I have to take the exam?” 

“Ging’s son will be taking the exam this year. He’s also 12, so it would be in your best interest to befriend him for information.”

“Illumi will also be taking the exam, so go to him if you need more information.” Zeno, Killua’s grandfather chimed in.

“Sounds good, I guess I’ll get ready then.” He turned around and was about to open the door before his father spoke again.

“This job is of the utmost importance, and it will likely take more time than you think, so you need to hide your identity for even years if it comes to it. The job doesn’t have a time limit.” Killua understood what Silva meant. Ging’s death took priority over everything else. If this Gon kid ever attacked the Troupe or the Zoldyck family, Killua would need to keep his cover and fight his families.

“I understand.” With that, he left the mountain and made his way back to the airport.

“Whose the target?.” Was the first thing Feitan said to him when Killua exited the airport.

“A pro-hunter whose rating is SSS.” The only reaction the black haired man had was a slight lift of his eyebrows, but for the guy, that was an expression of utter surprise.

“Sounds dangerous. How long will it take?”

“There’s no time limit but my father estimated years.” Was Killua’s reply.

“I assume you’ll have to hide your tattoo then?”

“Yep.”

“Go to Hisoka to get that done then,” Feitan said. Killua made a face at that, which caused Feitan to smirk just a little bit. The two Spiders had similar thoughts when it came to the creepy magician. Neither liked the pink haired man, something about him unnerved them. Since Illumi and Hisoka were friends, Killua was used to the guy hanging around his house when he still lived with the Zoldycks. He was something like a family friend, albeit a really creepy one Killua tried to avoid.

The two made their way to a sleek black limousine, where Phinks and Machi were waiting.

“Hey kiddo,” the pink haired girl greeted him.

“Hey Mach!” Killua happily bounded over to the healer, looking at her expectantly. She sighed in faux disappointment but then grinned and handed over the chocolate cake she had bought.

“Good nose Kil,” Phinks praised, adding, “But where’s my welcome huh?”

“You’ll get a nice greeting when you bring me chocolate.” Was the white haired boy’s reply, before digging into his cake.

The rest of the trip back to the Spider’s headquarters was dull, with the occasion bickering session (normally between Machi and Phinks), and Feitan had to prevent a murder when Phinks stole some of Killua’s cake. The four Spiders parked the car they had stolen outside a random building, and proceeded to walk to their headquarters.

“Hey guys! We’re having a group meeting in like 2 minutes so hurry up,” Shalnark yelled from inside the building. The four of them entered the room and made their way to the main room where they conducted all their meetings.

“Oh right! Boss told Kil to go and prepare for his mission, the Hunter exam starts tomorrow.” He added.

“Thanks Shal,” Killua said, then turned around and walked to his room. He figured he didn’t really need to bring anything, so he grabbed the skateboard he had stolen a while back and headed out to find Hisoka.

“Well hello there Killua~,” Ugh creepy clown.

“I need your texture surprise to cover my tattoo.” He explained.

“No problem. Now then, take off your shirt.” Killua complied and felt the sensation of bungee gum attaching itself to his back. The magician then took a handkerchief out of nowhere, and attached it to his skin. The sensation felt weird for a moment, but then the feeling of having a piece of cloth stuck on his back soon vanished.

“Thanks,” Killua said.

“So you’re taking the Hunter Exam right?” Hisoka inquired as Killua was about to leave the room.

“Yeah, why?” he asked suspiciously. Hisoka almost never asked for details for missions, especially for ones that he wasn't involved in.

“No reason,” he smirked, and made a shooing motion as if telling Killua to scram. Grr, Killua didn’t know why Chrollo allowed Hisoka to join the Phantom Troupe. It’s not like he actually helped during missions at all. Whatever. Killua made a face at the pink haired man and left the room. He was all set to go, but he wanted to say goodbye to Chrollo first. Out of everybody in the Troupe, Killua was closest to the Boss. He was like a brother to him, a good one, unlike the Zoldycks.

“Hello Kil. Ready for your job?” Chrollo said when Killua entered his room, without looking up from his book.

“Yep, just wanted to say goodbye before I left,” he said. Chrollo finally looked up from his book. He smiled gently and opened his arms. Killua dropped his skateboard and bounded over to him, practically tackling him, causing Chrollo to release an “oof” sort of sound.

“Don’t be reckless and text me if you need help.” He reminded the younger boy.

“I know Chro, don't worry. I bet I can finish this job in a few months and come back.” Killua stood up, grabbed his skateboard and waved goodbye to his boss.


	2. The Hunter Exam Will Now Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dark haired boy then introduced Killua to Leorio and the blonde boy named Kurapika, and Killua greeted them as civilly as he could. Although Leorio seemed like a typical person, boring and average in all aspects, Kurapika had a sort of bloodlust to him that was tightly controlled, but almost overflowing. He would most likely be quite a formidable foe to whoever his anger and hatred was directed at.

Finding the Hunter Exam had been easy. All he had to do was torture a Hunter using tips he’d learned from Feitan, and easily found a restraunt that led to the Hunter Exam center. When he’d arrived, he’d gotten a pin that had the number 99 on it, and now was waiting for the rest of the Hunter wannabes to get here. 

“Hey there! You must be a rookie huh?” A fat old man with bushy eyebrows said, strolling up to Killua. His only response was a raised eyebrow.

“Well uh, want some juice?” The guy said nervously, holding a can of orange juice. Killua instantly brightened up.

“Sure!” He did love orange juice. He opened the can and took a sip, noting that there was some sort of laxative inside. How boring, at least use poison or something. In a few seconds, he had finished the can and handed it back to the old guy. “Thanks,” he exclaimed, and ran off.

Hours later, the final three people had arrived. A pretty blonde boy and a tall black haired man with glasses flanked a small boy dressed in green. Judging by his age, Killua figured the middle male was Gon Freecs. He surreptitiously watched them from the corner of his eye, thinking of ways to integrate himself with the group.

“It’s quite rude to not apologize after bumping into someone you know,” a familiar voice rang out from across the cave.

Killua turned his head to look at the man talking and almost sighed. Of course it was Hisoka. He most likely came because both Illumi and Killua were taking the exam this year, and wanted to meddle in their missions perhaps. The fact that he had been disqualified last year after almost killing an examiner was probably another reason. Killua watched with interest as the man who had bumped into Hisoka had his arms severed and evaporated, and the person those arms were connected to faced the same fate soon after.

The creepy clown- I mean magician, turned towards Killua and winked. So much for being subtle. However, the white haired boy had to hand it to him, Hisoka really was quite a force to be reckoned with. Killua nodded to him slightly in acknowledgment, and looked around to see if he could find Illumi. While he knew his brother would have a disguise on, it was quite easy to recognize him. Illumi’s face was completely warped, but he was still wearing one of his trademark outfits, a green crop top with pins embedded into it, and baggy pants and shoes the same color. Killua cocked his head slightly when Illumi caught his gaze, and the latter gave him a small nod. 

The young boy smiled smugly, happy that he had figured out his disguise so quickly, even if it was a terrible one. No doubt his brother was using his nen needles to hold up the disguise. Killua had learned nen when he joined the Phantom Troupe, with Chrollo and Machi as his teachers. After only 2 months of training, he had mastered ten, zetsu, and ren. He had spent another month figuring out his hatsu, and had settled on electricity. Although he was proficient in nen, Killua rarely used it unless his target was a powerful nen user. He also figured he would have to hide his nen on this mission, since he doubted Gon even knew about it.

Killua snapped out of his daze when he heard the examiner begin to speak. After realizing he wouldn’t be able to kill anyone this phase, he quickly lost interest in what the guy was saying. Mustache man began running, and all he said was to keep up with him.

‘This’ll be too easy,’ Killua thought, stepping into his skateboard and following the examiner.

2 hours into the phase, applicants were dropping down like flies. Killua scoffed. He had better stamina then some of these guys when he was six.

“Hey you!” An obnoxious voice called out from behind him. Killua turned around to see the black haired man with glasses he had spotted next to Gon before. Hmm, if Killua played his cards right, this could be the perfect chance to befriend Ging’s son. The man kept on blabbering on about how Killua was cheating since he wasn’t running, and Killua was debating whether to kill him or not. Cons, it would probably scare Gon off, but pros, he would be silencing that insufferable voice that was really getting on his nerves.

“Actually, he’s not,” a young voice rang out. Killua smiled internally. Perfect timing. Gon started explaining to the man called Leorio how the examiner had only said to follow him, not that the applicants had to run.

“How old are you?” Killua asked.

“12!” Gon said cheerfully. Killua smiled and faked surprise.

“Same here,” he said.

The dark haired boy then introduced Killua to Leorio and the blonde boy named Kurapika, and Killua greeted them as civilly as he could. Although Leorio seemed like a typical person, boring and average in all aspects, Kurapika had a sort of bloodlust to him that was tightly controlled, but almost overflowing. He would most likely be quite a formidable foe to whoever his anger and hatred was directed at.

Killua figured he should run a bit, and flipped his skateboard from under him up into the air, before tucking it under one arm. He discreetly searched for Hisoka and Illumi, finding his brother up ahead and the magician behind them, a little too close for comfort.

“Wanna race to the front?” He asked Gon.

“Sure!” he said, before calling out to the two other boys, “Kurapika, Leorio! We’re gonna go on ahead ok?”

After counting to three, the two boys started sprinting, quickly leaving Kurapika, Leorio, and Hisoka far behind. Right when Killua and Gon were almost at the entrance of the underground tunnel, Killua slowed down just a tad, letting Gon win by a hair. 

“I win!” The boy in green cried out, looking at Killua. The assassin smiled, Gon wasn’t slow by any means, no doubt he had great potential to become a hunter. After all, it was in his blood.

“That was quite a close race,” the examiner said. What was his name again? Sato, Satote? Right! It was Satotz! Since the two boys were the first to exit the cave, they were now just waiting for the rest of the applicants.

After an extraordinary number of rock paper scissors games, everybody had finally arrived. Killua was listening absentmindedly to the examiner say something about illusions and swindling swamps, before a man holding a dead monkey that looked similar to Satotz appeared. The newcomer started saying how Satotz was a fake, and that he was the real examiner. This caused most of the applicants to mutter quietly, looking back and forth between the two examiners. Killua sighed. If it was up to him, he would attack both of the men, and the one who actually put up a fight would of course be the real one. However, he didn’t want to show his abilities too soon in the Exam, and also didn’t want to scare Gon away. Killua decided he would just wait for somebody else to figure out who was the real one.

A sudden blur sped right past Killua’s face, slicing a shallow cut on his cheek. The white haired boy watched as cards shot towards both of the examiners, embedding themselves into the chest of the guy with the dead monkey, but were caught by Satotz. Even from here, Killua could smell Hisoka’s bloodlust. 

“That decides it then,” the magician announced.

“Decides what?” Leorio asked. Killua rolled his eyes.

“That guy-,” he gestured at Satotz, “Is the real examiner. The examiners are all pro-hunters who were specifically chosen for this job. There’s no way an actual examiner would be killed by something as simple as those cards.”

“Well said Killua~,” Hisoka said, not looking particularly upset over having his cards being called simple. Killua almost glared at him. What was this crazy magician trying to do? Killua had been planning on acting like he didn’t know Hisoka or Illumi to avoid suspicion over his parentage. If Gon learned that he was a Zoldyck, he would probably figure out that Killua was an assassin too. The smartest idea would be to pretend he was a normal boy, but of course the pink haired Spider would mess up his plan. 

“Is your cheek alright?” Gon asked, rushing over to Killua’s side. Hmm, should he play the victim or no? Nah. Gon was strong, so he would likely want friends who could keep up with him both mentally and physically. Besides, Chrollo would laugh his head off if he heard that Killua cried over a tiny scratch, fake or not.

“I’m fine, it was just a scratch.” He remarked.

“Alright then,” Gon replied, although he looked over at Hisoka a bit angrily. Thank god he was so simple minded. Sadly, his friends were more observant. Killua could sense Kurapika and Leorio looking at him suspiciously, and no doubt they would ask him how he knew the creepy magician once they had the chance. Killua smirked. He had the perfect backstory planned out to get payback on Hisoka.


	3. Unripened Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Killua was an extremely strong nen user, Hisoka was no doubt better. He had more experience and practice that Killua was too young to have had. The only reason Killua wasn’t wary of Hisoka was because the pink haired man deemed him full of potential, and he never killed “unripened fruit”. Furthermore, if he ever did kill Killua, the Phantom Troupe and Zoldyck families would have his head and the boy knew Hisoka valued his life more then one satisfying kill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments on this fic! I just started high school so I'll most likely be posting less often, but I want to try and update this story every 2 weeks or so.

Killua wasn’t exactly sure if the applicants were still in Phase 1 of the exam or starting Phase 2, but they were still running. The marshy swamp was a more challenging terrain then the underground cave, but Killua and Gon easily kept up with the group.

Leorio and Kurapika had separated from the group some time ago, and Killua was hoping Gon didn’t notice until they made it to their destination. Sadly, when the black haired boy realized the two males were missing, he stubbornly decided to go back and find them, despite Killua telling him they’d be fine. The white haired boy watched him go, and decided at the last second to follow him. If Gon got killed then his mission would be infinitely more difficult to complete.

Killua sat up in a tree, watching a battle unfold underneath. Well, battle wasn’t exactly the right word for what was happening. Although Killua had been looking for Gon, he had sensed Hisoka’s bloodlust and decided to go see what was happening. What he saw was basically a slaughter. Around 8 or 9 men were lying on the floor dead, save their leader who was now cowering on the ground.

Hisoka looked in Killua’s direction, and the boy figured he had noticed he was there. Killua wasn’t really making a big effort to hide himself, in fact he rather wanted Hisoka to know he was there so the magician wouldn’t lose total control. Creepy clown or not, Spiders looked out for each other.

“You two can come out now,” he said. A moment later, Kurapika and Leorio appeared from the woods. The two whispered something to each other, and immediately sprinted in different directions. Killua smiled. At least those two had some common sense. 

Not even a minute later, he took it back. Kurapika was nowhere to be found, but Leorio had come back and was now attempting to attack Hisoka. 

“Idiot,” Killua muttered. Although Chrollo was more powerful than Hisoka and Illumi, the latters were nothing to scoff at. Furthermore, his brother and the magician were so close in both fighting with nen and without that it was practically impossible to say who was stronger without having the two fight to the death. 

Although Killua was an extremely strong nen user, Hisoka was no doubt better. He had more experience and practice that Killua was too young to have had. The only reason Killua wasn’t wary of Hisoka was because the pink haired man deemed him full of potential, and he never killed “unripened fruit”. Furthermore, if he ever did kill Killua, the Phantom Troupe and Zoldyck families would have his head and the boy knew Hisoka valued his life more then one satisfying kill.

Hisoka had turned around and broken Leorio’s weapon-, wait was that a stick? He was officially an idiot. The magician delivered a swift uppercut to the jaw and the black haired man was instantly down. He prepared to deliver another blow, but before he could, Hisoka was smacked in the face with a fishing rod. Killua couldn’t help it. He let out a not so quiet chuckle at the brief look of surprise on the pink haired man's face.

Gon started yelling something at Hisoka before Leorio got back up and tried to attack the man again. He never learned did he? This time, Hisoka knocked him out in one blow. Gon then tried to help Leorio, but was stopped by Hisoka. The black haired boy attempted to run away from the magician, but he kept on appearing right behind the boy. Killua watched with interest. Although Gon had clearly never been trained in nen or fighting, he had plenty of natural talent. His aura was extremely strong, and based on the fact that he could keep up with Killua during the first phase of the Exam, he was strong physically too.

Still, he had to be alert and make sure Gon wasn’t killed. With this thought in mind, he sat back and watched the boy be thrown around by Hisoka. After the magician was properly satisfied, he let Gon go and said something to him that Killua couldn’t hear.

Hisoka then said loudly, “well, I got to go meet a friend but see you boys later,” The man then lifted Leorio over his shoulder and proceeded to walk away, but not before turning around and waving a hand in Killua’s direction.

Killua jumped out of the tree and landed behind Gon. “You alright?” He asked. Gon practically jumped in the air.

“Wow you scared me! When did you get here Killua?” 

“Just now,” he lied. “Let’s hurry to the meeting point, or we might not qualify for the next phase.” 

“Ok! I can lead the way.” Gon said, picking up his fishing rod from where it had fallen earlier.

Killua was intrigued. Sure, he could sense where they were supposed to meet by tracking where Illumi’s and Hisoka’s auras were, but since Gon couldn’t use nen, how could he find out where they were supposed to head? He followed the boy in green who kept on sniffing the air, and the direction he led them was exactly spot on.

“How can you figure out which way we need to go?” Kllua asked once they were almost at the clearing where the applicants were waiting.

“I could smell Leorio’s cologne,” Gon replied. “It has a super distinct scent, so it was simple to trace where the smell was coming from.” Killua surreptitiously sniffed the air. Nothing. Gon’s sense of smell seemed to be incredibly powerful. 

The two boys made it to the clearing, where Leorio and Kurapika were waiting already. They seemed to have made it just in time, because not a minute later Satotz announced the First Phase of the Exam was now over.

“The applicants here will all move on to the second phase, so please follow me.”


End file.
